Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London Lyrics | SongMeanings Warren Zevon Werewolves of London is found on the album Excitable Boy . Found on more albums: A Quiet Normal Life: The Best of Warren Zevon Stand in the Fire I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (An Anthology) Spooky Tunes & Scary Melodies Genius: The Best of Warren Zevon Stand in the Fire [Bonus Tracks] Excitable Boy [Bonus Tracks] Learning to Flinch [Limited Edition] Karaoke: Classic Rock, Vol. 1 [30 Tracks] I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain He was looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook's Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein Aaoooooo! If you hear him howling around your kitchen door Better not let him in Little old lady got mutilated late last night Werewolves of London again He's the hairy-handed gent who ran amuck in Kent Lately he's been overheard in Mayfair Better stay away from him He'll rip your lungs out, Jim I'd like to meet his tailor Aaoooooo!

Well, I saw Lon Chaney walking with the Queen Doing the Werewolves of London I saw Lon Chaney, Jr. walking with the Queen Doing the Werewolves of London I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's And his hair was perfect Aaoooooo! Warren Zevon - Biography - IMDb Warren Zevon Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (17) | Personal Quotes (7) Overview (4) Sandy Mini Bio (1) The son of a gangster who was a Russian Jewish immigrant, and a Mormon Midwestern mother of English descent, Warren Zevon overcame a difficult childhood and an ill-fated start as a folk-rock-singer in the 1960s to establish himself as one of the most offbeat and intelligent singer-songwriters in the mid-1970s. A trained classical pianist, he often combined darkly humorous and cynical observations with heartfelt romantic sentiments and biting social satire. He is considered one of the best lyricists in songwriting and his interest in the literary world has led to friendships with many writers, including Hunter S.

Thompson, Carl Hiaasen, Stephen King, Thomas McGuane and Dave Barry. His breakthrough as a recording artist came in 1978 when his song "Werewolves of London" became a surprise hit, pushing the accompanying album "Excitable Boy" into the Top 30 as well. This album, like the preceding and critically praised eponymous album, were produced by Jackson Browne, who helped Warren get a recording contract and stayed a lifelong supporter and friend. Though considered by the general public as a one-hit wonder - an impression not helped by "Werewolves of London" becoming a hit once more in 1986 following its use by Martin Scorsese in a key scene of The Color of Money - he had a highly praised recording career, a devoted fan-base and a lot of peer respect during the course of the publication of 15 solo albums from 1969 to 2002. He was considered part of the L.A. "Mellow Mafia" (including, among others, The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and JD Souther), but set himself apart by his adventurous lyrical and musical choices.

He was, however, engaged in the Hollywood lifestyle favored by some of his more high-profile colleagues and was battling with alcoholism for the better part of his life. In the 1990s Warren also branched out into acting, playing himself in episodes of "The Larry Sanders Show" and "Suddenly Susan" or acting alongside one-time neighbour and friend Billy Bob Thornton. In 2001 Zevon was diagnosed as terminally ill with mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer. He used his last months to record a last album, "The Wind". This process was the subject of a VH1 documentary, published posthumously on DVD. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Simonsayz Spouse (1) ( 23 May 1974 - 26 February 1981) (divorced) (1 child) Trivia (17) One of his songs, "Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead," was later used for the title of a 1995 film.

Recorded hit single in early 2001, "Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)", co-written with sportswriter (and "Tuesdays With Morrie" author) Mitch Albom . David Letterman provided backup vocals. The London (Ontario) club in baseball's Frontier League, an independent minor league, is named the Werewolves after Zevon's song "Werewolves of London." The Werewolves' mascot is named Warren Z. Von. In September 2002, announcing to the press that he had terminal cancer, Zevon stated with his traditional wry humor: "It would be a shame if I didn't make it to see the next James Bond movie." He was the first musical guest on 'Late Night' and the only guest who had the whole show to himself as a guest where he spoke of his terminal cancer. The song Werewolves of London's title was an idea of Phil Everly! He asked Warren and Waddy Wachtel to write a dance song and call it Werewolf of London. Warren had worked for Phil on his TV show as music director much as he did when he filled in for Paul Shaffer on Late Night with David Letterman.

He played in an Irish pub in Spain before Werewolves made him famous. One daughter, Ariel Zevon ; one son, Jordan Zevon . In later years dressed almost exclusively in his favorite color, gray, and amassed a large collection of gray Calvin Klein t-shirts. As a result of his suffering from OCD he had several quirks about items that he deemed unlucky, regularly throwing food or clothing items he just bought because they meant "bad luck". Was friends with Billy Bob Thornton , striking up a friendship when they realized they were neighbours and both suffered from OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Jokingly, Warren referred to him and Billy Bob as "The OCD Brothers". Occasionally filled in for Paul Schaeffer as the band leader of Late Night with David Letterman (1982). In 2002 he came to Cherokee Recording Studios to record what would be his final album, "The Wind".

Nick Read filmed his final recordings at Cherokee for the documentary, "Warren Zevon: Keep Me In Your Heart." Bruce Springsteen joined Zevon at Cherokee for the single "Disorder in the House," Cherokee owner Bruce Robb provided lead guitar on the first track of "The Wind" and support vocals on two other tracks. His Top 40 hit "Werewolves of London" featured Mick Fleetwood and John McVie from Fleetwood Mac on drums and bass guitar, respectively. He was friends with the director Tom Holland . Werewolves Of London by Warren Zevon Songfacts Werewolves Of London by Warren Zevon Songfacts Songfacts Zevon wrote this with guitarist Robert "Waddy" Wachtel. When Zevon was working with The Everly Brothers, he hired Wachtel to play in their backing band. At one point, Phil Everly asked them to write a dance song for the Everly Brothers called "Werewolves Of London." Wachtel and Zevon were good friends and were strumming guitars together when someone asked what they were playing. Zevon replied, "Werewolves Of London," and Wachtel started howling.

Zevon came up with the line "I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand," and they traded lyrics back and forth until they had their song. Jackson Browne produced this track. It features the backing vocals of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie from Fleetwood Mac. According to legend, a Werewolf is a man who turns into a wolf when there is a full moon. The only way to kill one is to shoot it through the heart with a silver bullet. This was featured in the 1986 movie The Color Of Money, starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. Robbie Robertson from The Band put together the soundtrack. The lyrics tell the story of "a hairy-handed gent who ran amok in Kent." He's well-dressed ("I'd like to meet his tailor"), well-groomed ("His hair was perfect"), and "preying on little old ladies." The Chinese restaurant mentioned in the song, "Lee Ho Fook," is a real location. It is situated on Gerrard Street in London's Chinatown (the nearest Tube station is Piccadilly). The patron proudly displays Zevon's photo.

>> Suggestion credit: Geoff - Morecambe, England When Zevon played this live, he sometimes replaced the line "I'd like to meet his tailor" with "And he's looking for James Taylor!" >> Suggestion credit: john - Cheshire, England In 1981, John Landis directed a movie called An American Werewolf In London. He went on to direct Michael Jackson's " Thriller " video, which featured Jackson as a Werewolf. This was the only Top 40 hit for Zevon as a singer. His "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" was #31 for Linda Ronstadt in 1978. Zevon filled in for bandleader/keyboardist/producer Paul Shaffer at Late Night With David Letterman whenever Shaffer was unable to attend the taping of the show. Letterman was a big fan of Zevon, and did some very moving interviews with him before his death, including one in which Zevon gave this advice: "Enjoy every sandwich." >> Suggestion credit: Brad Wind - Miami, FL In 2000, a fight broke out while Zevon was performing this at the Bowery Ballroom in New York.

Zevon stopped, waited for the fight to end, said "I bet this never happens at Sting concerts," and continued the song. There was a minor league baseball team in London, Ontario (Canada) called the London Werewolves. Jesse Ventura had this played at his inauguration party when he became governor of Minnesota. Zevon died of lung cancer in 2003. He lived with the disease longer than doctors expected and made his last album, The Wind, while he was dying. In some versions, Zevon mentioned the actor Jack Nicholson in the lyrics, often replacing the werewolf in the last verse. >> Suggestion credit: Kid Rock sampled this on his hit " All Summer Long ." >> Suggestion credit: Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon | Song Info | AllMusic Werewolves of London google+ Song Review by Denise Sullivan Coaxed out of semi-retirement by his friend Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon hit the studio to make his Excitable Boy record and came up with "Werewolves of London," a Top 50 single in 1978.

A fan of detective novels and what he called the "noir life," it wasn't a stretch for Zevon to come up with the humorous and grisly tale about a real-life werewolf; lines like, "He's the hairy-handed gent/Who ran amok in Kent," illustrate perfectly the noir, lyrical humor at work. With the assist of his Rolling piano, the Fleetwood Mac rhythm section (John McVie and Mick Fleetwood), and a host of L.A. session-cats borrowed from Linda Ronstadt's The Section, there was no way Zevon was going to turn out a tune that didn't swing. A roll call of London landmarks and a name check of the rock & roll restaurant Lee Ho Fook's all add to the song's vivid charm. Ten years after its recording and chart heyday, "Werewolves of London" turned up in Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money as accompaniment to Tom Cruise's memorable dance with a pool cue. And as with all good singer/songwriter songs of the day, Zevon's classic continued to enjoy airplay on album radio, though you won't often hear it on the more staid "oldies" format.

Appears On BBC - Press Office - Radio 2 Greatest Opening Song Line vote Printable version Cult songwriter Warren Zevon's 1978 single Werewolves Of London has won a top accolade today beating songs such as Bill Haley and The Comets' Rock Around The Clock and Bruce Springsteen's Hungry Heart for the Greatest Opening Song Line in rock 'n' roll history. The track opens with the lines: "Saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand, walking through the streets of Soho in the rain, he was looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook's, going to get a big dish of beef chow mein". BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine announced the winner on his show today (Tuesday 4 May). Jeremy says: "This is an amazing song from an artist who is sadly dead now. I think it has won because it takes an image and does something quite extraordinary with it. "Once you've heard the first line of Werewolves Of London you'll never forget it." Thousands of BBC Radio 2 listeners voted for the song, which was never a chart-hit. Bill Haley and The Comets' Rock Around The Clock came second.

For the past two weeks listeners to Jeremy's show (Monday to Friday, noon - 2.00pm) have been voting by email, text or phone for the Greatest Opening Song Line from a shortlist of 16. The two songs beat Little Richard's 'A Wop Bop A Loo Bop A Lop Bam Boom' from Tutti Frutti and Jimi Hendrix's 'Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?' from Hey Joe for a place in today's final. Singer / songwriter Warren Zevon was born in Chicago in 1947 and died at the end of last year in Los Angeles. Werewolves Of London was written by Zevon and Robert Wachtel and was to be Zevon's only top 40 hit single. The song came from his 1978 album Excitable Boy and features backing vocals from John McVie and Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac fame.

His son Jordan Zevon accepted the award explaining how the subject matter may have been fuelled by, "A little too much vodka" adding: "It was one of the Everly Brothers, I think it was Don, who said, 'That's a song. You should turn that into a song' and they did." Music journalist Paul Morley says: "I'm pleased this song has won as with this opening line you have no idea where the song is going. "It just sets up a story and it just goes to show how many great stories have been told in rock music. "These writers are so great that every time they put out an album that contains songs of this ilk, they are writing novels. "Warren Zevon represents that world created by Bob Dylan, creating great opening images that set up a whole world in which we have no idea what is going to happen but it's all going to be inside four minutes." On 12 April 1954 Rock Around The Clock was recorded by Bill Haley and The Comets at the Pythian Temple in New York. Dismissed as "the Devil's music" the song sparked off the rise of the rebellious teenager.

Originally a B-side, it wasn't until it appeared in the film Blackboard Jungle that the song became a massive hit and a worldwide phenomenon. The top ten 1. Warren Zevon - Werewolves Of London - "I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fook's Going to get a big dish of beef chow mein." 2. Bill Haley - Rock Around The Clock - "One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock, rock." 3. Jimi Hendrix - Hey Jo - "Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand." 4. Little Richard - Tutti Frutti - "A Wop Bop A Loo Bop A Lop Bam Boom!" 5. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird - "If I leave here tomorrow, Would you still remember me?" 6. Bruce Springsteen - Hungry Heart - "Got a wife and kids in Baltimore Jack I went out for a ride and I never went back." 7. ELO - Telephone Line - "Hello. How are you?

Have you been alright, through all those lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely nights That's what I'd say. I'd tell you everything If you'd pick up that telephone." 8. Paul Simon - Kodachrome - "When I think back On all the crap I learned in high school It's a wonder I can think at all." 9. Morrissey - Every Day Is Like Sunday - "Trudging slowly over wet sand Back to the bench where your clothes were stolen." 10. Elvis Costello - Alison - "Oh it's so funny to be seeing you after so long, girl.

And with the way you look I understand that you are not impressed." The Secret Inspiration Behind Warren Zevon’s ‘Werewolves of London’ The Secret Inspiration Behind Warren Zevon’s ‘Werewolves of London’ How ‘a dumb song for smart people’ became an unlikely hit By George Plasketes From his 1978 album Excitable Boy, Warren Zevon’s terror trilogy — a ghostly, ghastly three-song sequence brimming with abandoned amusement — was comprised of “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner,” “Excitable Boy,” and “Werewolves of London.” The latter was another “literally 15-minute song” that none of its co-writers — Zevon, LeRoy Marinell, and Waddy Wachtel — took seriously. The spontaneous composition, referred to by Zevon as “a dumb song for smart people,” defied the conventional attributes of songwriting such as labor, craft, and agonizing. The idea originated with Phil Everly who, after watching the movie Werewolf of London (1935) on late-night television, suggested to Zevon that he adapt the title for a song and dance craze.

When Wachtel heard the idea, he mimicked a wailing wolf — “Aahoooh” — which became part of the howling chorus. The trio frivolously alternated verses, beginning with what may be one of the all-time opening lines: “I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand/Walking down the streets of Soho in the rain.” The romp is comic noir, featuring a stylish werewolf on his way to Lee Ho Fooks for a “big dish of beef chow mein” and another “drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic’s.” There is a warning of “the hairy handed gent who ran amok in Kent” alleviated with nifty alliteration — “little old lady got mutilated late last night,” droll fashion statements — “his hair was perfect,” characteristic celebrity name dropping — Lon Chaney, and Lon Chaney Jr. walking with the Queen, the dance endeavor Everly had hoped for, “doing the Werewolves of London,” and an “Aah-oooh” chorus.

Zevon effortlessly sprinkled verses with punch lines: “You better stay away from him/He’ll rip your lungs out, Jim/Heh, I’d like to meet his tailor.” He drolly punctuates the prance with a salivating, “Draw blood.” Fortunately, Crystal Zevon was present to transcribe the lively lyric exchange onto a steno pad that she always carried. The following day in the studio with Jackson Browne, who was cutting some Zevon demos to solicit to the Eagles and Ronstadt to possibly record before the Warren Zevon sessions began, they mentioned the “new song” and recited the “Werewolves” lyrics. Browne responded favorably. One listen was enough to prompt him to occasionally perform the song live as early as 1975 — three years before it was recorded. Bootleg recordings of those performances, notably the Main Point show, frequently circulated, creating expectations from Asylum that Browne was going to record the song. Recording “Werewolves” was a contrast to its hasty composition.

Wachtel compared his struggles during the studio sessions to the challenges that director Francis Ford Coppola faced during the production of the Vietnam War epic, Apocalypse Now (1979), as chronicled in the documentary Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991). Though the comparison of a three-minute song to a three-hour film may be a bit disproportionate, Wachtel nonetheless considered “Werewolves” the hardest song to get down in the studio that he ever worked on. The song was built around a lick that Marinell had been carrying around for years. Wachtel used seven bands and endless combinations of musicians, before recruiting Fleetwood Mac members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, who finally executed the drum and bass parts to best fit the song during an all-night session. Most of the Excitable Boy budget went into recording “Werewolves of London” due to the disproportionate number of attempts to get the song done. When the record label chose “Werewolves” as the album’s single, Zevon and Wachtel were insulted from an artistic stance.

They were perplexed by Asylum’s logic in taking “that piece of shit.” Their preferences for the single were “Tenderness on the Block,” the tune co-written with Browne that they considered exceptional, or the mid-tempo lead cut, “Johnny Strikes Up the Band.” Whether luck, intuition, or music marketing savvy, to the label’s credit, “Werewolves of London” became an overnight hit, reaching number 21 and remaining in the Top 40 for six weeks. The single was also issued in a limited-edition, 12-inch picture disc featuring a werewolf close-up and Zevon sitting in the sleeve’s bottom-right corner in his three-piece suit. Zevon conceded that “Werewolves of London” was a novelty, though “not a novelty the way, say, Steve Martin’s ‘King Tut’ is a novelty.” Zevon’s hairy-handed hit contained qualities that, had it been recorded five years later, might have settled somewhere between a Weird Al Yankovic parody and the John Landis epic 13-minute music video of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in 1983, with werewolves replacing zombies in the horror choreography.

Surprisingly, Landis did not include the song in his film An American Werewolf in London (1981). Similar to “Excitable Boy” in its lyrical dexterity, surprising hooks, merry piano melody, and guilty pleasure sing-along aura, “Werewolves of London” possessed a novelty nature and abandoned amusement that translated well beyond a Halloween standard as a song that was as sardonically smart as it was savage. Browne, an unwavering acolyte, gives the song more credit than Zevon does. Browne told Rolling Stone’s David Fricke that when someone inevitably made reference to “Werewolves of London” at Zevon’s memorial service in 2003, Browne came away with a new perspective on the song 25 years later, with one of Zevon’s patented comes-out-of-nowhere lines his focal point. Browne’s incisive “Werewolves” reading reveals him to be one of those “smart people” Zevon’s “dumb song” was written for: It’s about a really well-dressed, ladies’ man, a werewolf preying on little old ladies.

In a way it’s the Victorian nightmare, the gigolo thing. The idea behind all those references is the idea of the ne’er do-well who devotes his life to pleasure: the debauched Victorian gentleman in gambling clubs, consorting with prostitutes, the aristocrat who squanders the family fortune. All of that is secreted in that one line: “I’d like to meet his tailor.” ~Jackson Browne “I don’t think it was as big a hit as people think it was. People remember it from year to year more — it’s been in movies and it gets trotted out regularly — but it’s not as if it sold four million copies, like a Paula Abdul single, you know what I mean? “~Warren Zevon Warren Zevon, circa 1970s “Werewolves of London” was “trotted out regularly.” The hit song’s 15- minute conception, prompted by a horror film and a dance-crazed Phil Everly, progressed into a lineage of assorted and unusual cultural citations.

In addition to the song’s signature “Ahh-ooh” chorus howl and idiosyncratic “I’d like to meet his tailor,” the opening lyric has been abstracted with recognition. In 2004, “Werewolves of London’” won the BBC Radio 2’s “Greatest Opening Song Line” vote, finishing ahead of Bill Haley and the Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock,” “Hey Joe” by the Leaves, Jimi Hendrix, and others, Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti,” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird.” The first part of the opening line — “I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand” — has also been appropriated as a bumper sticker, with the verse catchy but confounding to those not familiar with Zevon. The most common conveyance of “Werewolves of London” is as a Halloween standard. Beyond the annual October playlist, the song has been used widely in television, including Californication, Community, Grimm, Glee, Hawaii Five-O, and Dancing with the Stars; and in film, notably Martin Scorsese’s The Color of Money (1986).

Cover versions range from the Flamin’ Groovies, David Lindley, and Magnolia Electric Co., to actor Adam Sandler. Masha Shirin’s sultry rendition provides a striking divergence from the original within the ironic setting of a noirish musical featuring a stylish lupine ladies’ man that was part of an ad campaign for Three Olives vodka in 2014. There is also ironic juxtaposition in Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long,” a huge hit that reached number one in eight countries in 2008. The song samples the “Werewolves” piano hook, mashed up with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” a song Zevon satirized in “Play It All Night Long” in 1980. “Werewolves of London” surfaced in several rather uncommon settings. During the gubernatorial inauguration ball in 1999, Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura growled his way through an organic live performance of a tailored version, “Werewolves of Minnesota,” guided by Zevon who shared the stage on piano.

In major league baseball, Washington Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth includes “Werewolves of London” in his rotation of walk-up tunes played over the stadium PA system as he approaches the batter’s box. The personal theme was presumably selected to correlate with Werth’s beard and shaggy hair. The song also circulated to the spirited atmosphere of minor league baseball. In 1999, when the independent Frontier League team Kalamazoo Kodiaks relocated from Michigan to London, Ontario, their name change to “Werewolves” seemed an oddly obvious choice. The team mascot, a harmlessly howling wolf dressed in top hat and tails, named “Warren Z. Vaughn,” erased any doubt as to the source of the team name. The caricatured Zevon homage was weirdly transcendent, an Elvisian distinction and a rarity for rockers that highlighted the song’s cartoon qualities and novelty party mythology. In cameos on two 1990s cable comedies on HBO, The Larry Sanders Show and Dream On, Zevon advanced his own “hit song torment” counter-mythology.

Zevon displays deft, unaffected, and edgy comic timing in hilarious scenes in which he expresses his ire at the endless requests, whether from fans or television show hosts, to play their favorite Zevon song, “Werewolves of London.” “Listen, I don’t want to be a prick, but every single show I do, I play ‘Werewolves of London’ and it’s driving me fucking crazy.” ~Warren Zevon, scene from ‘The Larry Sanders Show’ (HBO), September 15, 1993 Excerpted from George Plasketes’ Warren Zevon: Desperado of Los Angeles, as a part of Tempo: A Rowman & Littlefield Music Series on Rock, Pop, and Culture from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Available now at Amazon , Barnes & Noble , and other fine retailers. Medium’s Premier Music Publication: An ear for the new, a heart for the classics 86 Warren Zevon on Apple Music To preview a song, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to buy and download music.

Biography Few of rock & roll's great misanthropes were as talented, as charming, or as committed to their cynicism as Warren Zevon. A singer and songwriter whose music often dealt with outlaws, mercenaries, sociopaths, and villains of all stripes, Zevon's lyrics displayed a keen and ready wit despite their often uncomfortable narrative circumstances, and while he could write of love and gentler emotions, he did so with the firm conviction that such stories rarely end happily. Though he frequently worked with luminaries of the Los Angeles soft rock scene, Zevon was always the odd man out, someone who shared their exacting musical standards but not their smugly satisfied view of the world around them, and he remained a cheerful pessimist right up to the moment he met a fate that could have visited one of his own characters. Warren William Zevon was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 24, 1947, and the facts of his early life read like a picaresque novel. Zevon's father, a Russian émigré, was a professional gambler who spent most of his time on the road, while his mother was a devout Mormon who looked after the family.

When Zevon was young, his family moved to Fresno, California, and as he developed a precocious interest in music in his early teens and learned to play the piano and the guitar, young Warren became acquainted with the author and orchestra director Robert Craft. Craft in turn introduced the youngster to the noted composer Igor Stravinsky, who befriended Zevon and welcomed him into his home several times. While Zevon would remain fascinated with classical music, he also developed a passion for folk and rock & roll, and not long after his parents finally divorced, the 16-year-old Zevon quit high school, hopped in a car his father gave him, and headed for New York City, where he intended to become a pop star. Zevon fared better than most starry-eyed would-be rock & roll sensations; he paired up with an old-school friend, Violet Santangelo, and formed a folk-rock duo called lyme & cybelle (they insisted the name be spelled in lower case), who scored a recording contract with White Whale Records and released a single, "Follow Me," which made it to 65 on the Billboard pop charts in 1966.

However, after a second 45, Zevon quit the duo to move to Los Angeles, and over the next few years, he struggled to support himself as a contract songwriter (two of his compositions, "Outside Chance" and "Like the Seasons," were recorded by White Whale's best known act, the Turtles), composing commercial jingles, and as a session musician. In 1969, noted producer, talent scout, and eccentric Kim Fowley, impressed by Zevon's songwriting, offered to produce an album for him; as Zevon once told a reporter, "Fowley called me up one day and asked very simply, 'Are you prepared to wear black leather and chains, f--- a lot of teenage girls and get rich?' I said yes." For good or ill, the virtue of the young women in question remained unchanged, as did Zevon's bank account; the album, Wanted Dead or Alive, was a critical and commercial flop. After the failure of his first album, Zevon joined the Everly Brothers' touring band as pianist, and following the duo's acrimonious split in 1973, he would work with both Don and Phil as solo artists.

However, an attempt to complete a second album failed to get off the ground, and in frustration, Zevon left the United States for Spain, where he spent a summer playing in a small tavern and writing songs. By the fall of 1975, he had returned to Los Angeles, and after sharing a home for a while with a pair of struggling pop performers, Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, Zevon had already struck up a friendship with Jackson Browne, who was on the cusp of major stardom and one of the most well-respected songwriters on the West Coast. While Zevon and Browne's styles were very different, Browne greatly admired his new friend's talent, and not only helped Zevon land a deal with Asylum Records, but also produced his first album for the label. Simply titled Warren Zevon, the album (which featured Zevon's former roommates Buckingham and Nicks, who had since found stardom in Fleetwood Mac, as well as Bonnie Raitt and several members of the Eagles) didn't sell especially well but won rave reviews, and Linda Ronstadt would give Zevon her seal approval by covering three tunes from the album.

Browne took Zevon on tour to support the album, and in 1978, they returned to the studio to cut Zevon's second album. Excitable Boy became an unexpected success after the song "Werewolves of London" stormed the singles charts, and Zevon finally became a rock star. However, fame and wealth fueled his addiction to alcohol, and a stay in treatment preceded his third album for Asylum, 1980's Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School. Zevon was clean and sober for the tour that followed, and a live album during the final dates of the tour, 1981's Stand in the Fire, confirmed Zevon was a force to be reckoned with. Zevon explored his addictions in several songs on 1982's The Envoy, which proved unfortunately prescient; not long after its release, he fell back into drinking, and Asylum dropped him from their roster. By 1984, Zevon was back on the wagon and eager to prove himself again.

Looking to explore new musical territory, he reached out to Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry of R.E.M., who were college radio heroes but a few years away from mainstream success. With three-quarters of R.E.M. as his rhythm section, the quartet cut a single under the name Hindu Love Gods, and a couple years later, they hit the studio to record Zevon's 1987 album Sentimental Hygiene. The album, which also featured guest spots from Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and George Clinton, earned Zevon a new deal with Virgin Records and won enthusiastic reviews from critics. (A set of covers Zevon recorded with Buck, Mills, and Berry would later be released under the title Hindu Love Gods.) Zevon's second effort for Virgin, 1989's Transverse City, was an ambitious concept album about a world in collapse, but despite the presence of several high-profile guests (including Jerry Garcia and David Gilmour), the album was a commercial failure, and Zevon was once again without a label. He returned to duty in 1991 after striking a deal with Giant Records, but the three albums he cut for the label (Mr.

Bad Example, Learning to Flinch, and Mutineer) received little notice from critics or fans, and his career seemed to be fading into the distance. However, Zevon enjoyed a resurgence through an unlikely source -- David Letterman. A fan of Zevon's music, Letterman made him a frequent guest on his talk show, and when bandleader Paul Shaffer was unable to appear on the broadcast, Zevon became his usual substitute. The television exposure reminded audiences of Zevon's dry wit and powerful musical gifts, and with his profile on the rise, Zevon signed a deal with the independent label Artemis Records, who issued his mordantly witty meditation of mortality, Life'll Kill Ya, in 2000. Zevon's next album, My Ride's Here, included a guest appearance by Letterman on the track "Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)," while Hunter S. Thompson, Carl Hiaasen, and Paul Muldoon all co-wrote songs with Zevon for the project.

In the fall of 2002, Zevon began experiencing dizziness and shortness of breath, and despite a lifelong distrust of doctors, he consulted a physician on the advice of his dentist. He was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, a virulent and inoperable form of lung cancer, and was told he was not likely to live more than a few months. After going public with his condition on September 12, 2002, he began marshalling his strength to complete a final album, with many friends and admirers stepping in to help, including Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Dwight Yoakam, Ry Cooder, and Don Henley. On October 30, Zevon appeared as the sole guest on David Letterman's show, playing his songs, discussing his life and his health, and advising viewers to "Enjoy every sandwich." Against the odds, Zevon lived long enough to see the release of his final album, The Wind, on August 26, 2003, as well as the birth of his twin grandsons.

He died on September 7, 2003; five months later, The Wind earned him two posthumous Grammy awards, for best contemporary folk album and best rock duo performance (for "Disorder in the House" with Bruce Springsteen). ~ Mark Deming Top Albums

Question: Who had a hit single with 'Werewolves Of London'?
Answer: Warren Zevon